SAGE Case Study: John C. Anderson Apartments (Philadelphia)

AFFORDABLE HOUSING CASE STUDY

John C. Anderson Apartments PHILADELPHIA

BACKGROUND The John C. Anderson Apartments opened in January of 2014. However, the work that lead to its fruition really began quite earlier. Mark Segal, President of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund (dmhFund) and longtime LGBT advocate, began studying the needs of local LGBT seniors in 1998. In 2009, dmhFund partnered with Philadelphia Health Management Corporation

PROJECT SNAPSHOT ••

Opened in January of 2014

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56 units

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Utilized 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits

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All occupants must be 62 and older

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Income restricted with all units being 60% and below Area Median Income

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Ground floor retail space

to conduct a study of LGBT older adults in Philadelphia. They found that the predominant issue cited by respondents was a need for safe, sageusa.org/lgbthousing

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING CASE STUDY

affordable, LGBT-specific housing. In 2010, Segal approached the CEO of Pennrose Properties, LLC, a Philadelphia-based developer of affordable, market rate, and mixed-income housing. Founded in 1971, Pennrose has developed more than

AMENITIES & OTHER UNIQUE FEATURES ••

Green courtyard, partial green roof, Energy Star 3 rating

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Onsite community room and library, computer lab and laundry

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Medical Case Management and Life Enrichment services provided by Action Wellness and the William Way LGBT Community Center

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LGBT older adult programs on site and at William Way include an array of LGBT-centric and other programming, including intergenerational group, women’s group, tai chi, peer support sharing group, social and wellness groups

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The Mazzoni Health Center (within walking distance) provides quality comprehensive health and wellness services in an LGBTQ-focused environment (primary care, mental health, prevention, and legal services)

16,000 housing units, representing more than $3 billion in total development activity. Pennrose’s portfolio includes more than 220 distinct developments in 14 states plus the District of Columbia.

The partnership that began in 2010 was the start of a strong collaboration where dmhFund cultivated support from local community groups by utilizing focus groups and listening sessions for local residents as well as advocating for the project with local and state political leaders.

Pennrose took the lead on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit application, identifying other sources of financing, zoning, and all other aspects of development and project management.

The project broke ground in November 2012 and opened a little more than a year later. Segal recounted that his advice to anyone undertaking a similar project would be “to be a willing student” and to recognize that any development will evolve and change throughout the process so as not to be wedded to the exact original vision of a

Total Development Costs: $19.5 million

project. In addition, understanding that there

Co-Owners: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund

are so many moving pieces to the process and

(dmhFund) and Pennrose Properties, LLC

identifying talented partners with expertise and

Developer: Pennrose

a shared mission are instrumental to success.

This was true for John C. Anderson as the original vision was to have the William Way LGBT Center onsite. Due to a variety of outside factors, that

Property Manager: Pennrose Management Company Service Provider: Action Wellness and William

was not possible. John C. Anderson was, however,

Way LGBT Community Center

sited in the former space of a large parking

Tenant Profile: All units are for those 62 and

structure near the William Way LGBT Community

older, income restricted to 60% and below Area

Center, which still provides close proximity for

Median Income (AMI), 6 units for extremely low

service provision.

income (less than $11,100/year), 23 units for very

sageusa.org/lgbthousing

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING CASE STUDY

low income (less than $27,750/year), and 27 units for low income (less than $33,300/year). These income levels are subject to annual adjustments according to HUD’s published schedule of county Area Median Incomes.

Service Provider Mission: The William Way LGBT Community Center encourages, supports, and advocates for the well-being and acceptance of sexual and gender minorities in the Greater Philadelphia region through service, recreational, educational, and cultural programming. William Way started serving LGBT older adults more than 42 years ago.

Service Approach: Supportive Services are subcontracted through Pennrose Development to William Way LGBT Community Center. William Way has one Senior Services Director who coordinates with an onsite Supportive Services Director at Pennrose. One property manager is onsite full time. William Way has staff onsite two days a week and a medical case manager from Action Wellness onsite one day per week. There is an array of community programming onsite including friendly visitor programs, support groups, both male and female targeted focused programming, quarterly dance parties, tai chi classes, a gardening club, and self-led “rap” sessions where residents provide ongoing support to each other.

William Way also brings in speakers on related topics. They host three programs per month with topics like financial fitness and advocacy around Medicare fraud.

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